Trai weighs roaming options

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is learnt to be weighing the option of abolishing the national roaming charges.

The move has been triggered by the recent announcement made by Dayanidhi Maran and the keenness expressed by A Raja to look into the matter, sources said.

Trai officials were not available for comment.

Maran, after his exit as communications minister, had told the media that he was planning the abolition of national roaming charges as a gift to Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi on his birthday on June 3.

A Raja, who took over as the new communications minister on Tuesday, said he would consider that proposal. Director general of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) TV Ramachandran told that the annual revenue-share fees of mobile operators must be slashed to 6% (from the current range of 8% to 12%), if the government wants to abolish the roaming charges.

“Reduction of revenue-share fee is a long pending demand of the industry,” he said. And that’s the only way of compensating the industry for revenue loss from abolition of roaming charges.

In February, Trai had reduced the roaming charges. As per that tariff order, the maximum permissible charge for roaming calls, irrespective of terminating networks and tariff plans, was set at Rs 1.40 per minute for outgoing local calls, Rs 2.40 for outgoing national long distance calls and Rs 1.75 for incoming calls.

Recently, the monthly rental being charged by operators, for access to national roaming service, was also removed. Earlier, there was a monthly levy of Rs 50 for national roaming.

Roaming charges are paid by mobile phone subscribers when they travel out of town, on making local calls, making outstation calls, and receiving calls. Roaming tariff has two components-airtime charges and interconnect charges.

Last year, Maran had announced an equally revolutionary `One India’ tariff plan, which allowed a mobile subscriber to make calls to any destination in the country at Re 1 per minute.

There are only two ways of reducing or abolishing the roaming tariff, industry sources have said. That is, it can be implemented by making state telecom companies—BSNL and MTNL-to slash the roaming charge, which would then be followed by the private players due to competition.

Otherwise, Trai would need to issue a tariff order for the entire telecom sector. The regulator usually issues such orders through a lengthy consultation process with the industry. However, Trai has the power to issue the order on its own.

According to industry estimates, 10 to 15% of mobile subscribers use the roaming facility. But, revenue-loss figures could not be ascertained, if the roaming charges were to be abolished.